Paul Vitti (De Niro) is a high-ranking mafia member, involved in organizing the first nationwide summit since 1957. The Mafia is under threat by the FBI, as well as by their [[TheTriadsAndTheTongs Chinese]] and [[TheMafiya Russian]] rivals in organized crime. Vitti also has to avoid assassination attempts by young upstarts. Meanwhile, psychiatrist Ben Sobel (Crystal) is agonizing over his problematic relationship with his son, how boring his patients are and his upcoming second marriage.

When Vitti starts having panic attacks, a first in his life, he deems psychiatric help is in order. Sobel is the lucky psychiatrist chosen for the job. Sobel's life is more or less taken over by his needy patient, who has no problem having his thugs regularly abduct Sobel for their sessions. More trouble comes into his life when the FBI decides to turn the psychiatrist into their newest informant.

The film is well-regarded for its partly serious and partly humorous look at the stress and depression of De Niro's character. It was also a commercial hit and received a sequel, '''''Analyze That''''' (2002). While not a complete flop, the second film was a critical failure, killing the idea of another sequel.

Interestingly, released the same year as the start of [[Series/TheSopranos a TV series involving a Mafioso and his psychiatrist]]. Whether one inspired the other, or it was just coincidence, or if there was just "something in the air" isn't entirely clear.----!!''Analyse This'' provides examples of the following tropes:

* AcronymConfusion:-->'''FBI Agent Steadman:''' Dr. Sobel, Ma'am: I'm Agent Steadman, Agent Ricci, Agent Provano, Federal Bureau Of Investigation, OCD.\\'''Dr. Ben Sobel:''' Obsessive Compulsive Disorder?\\'''FBI Agent Ricci:''' Organized Crime Division. We need to talk.* ActorAllusion \ AdamWesting: Vitti is very obviously a parody of the sorts of gangsters De Niro played many times previously.** Double when a DreamSequence mocks the assassination attempt on [[Film/TheGodfather Vito Corleone]]. ("I was Fredo? I don't think so!")** One line from Vitti neatly parodies all of the above:-->But if we talk, and I turn into a fag, I kill you.* AllPsychologyIsFreudian* BlackandGrayMorality: Paul Vitti is a criminal, a criminal with ''issues'', but still a criminal, but the FBI agents are pretty unscrupulous too, threatening Doc Sobel and [[spoiler: altering a recording of Vitti defending Sobel so it would sound like he was plotting to kill him, in order to get Sobel to wear a wire.]]* CIAEvilFBIGood: Downplayed. The FBI ''are'' trying to catch criminals, but they do engage in questionable conduct. See above.* CompletelyDifferentTitle** The French title is ''Mafia Blues''.** In Polish, it's ''Gangster's Depression''.** In Portuguese, it's ''Mafia in [[FreudianCouch the Couch]]''.** In Finnish, it's ''In Need Of Therapy''.** In Spanish, it's ''A Dangerous Therapy''.* ConfessInConfidence: Vitti opens up to Sobel about his stress-related problems, both in his professional and personal life.* TheConsigliere: The role Dr. Sobel ends up in, quite against his will.* TheCoronerDothProtestTooMuch** How Vitti's henchman Jelly avoided jail time in one case -- a witness "stabbed himself in the back four times and threw himself off a bridge."** Later mocked when a would-be assassin is thrown out of the penthouse window (during Sobel's wedding no less):-->'''Vitti:''' It was probably suicide. Jelly, have they found [[GoodbyeCruelWorld a suicide note]] yet?\\'''Jelly:''' No, but they will. ''(starts to write)'' \\'''Sobel:''' Oh, let me guess! "LIFE IS BULLSHIT! I CAN'T FUCKING TAKE IT ANYMORE! SIGNED, THE DEAD GUY!"\\'''Jelly:''' [[FatIdiot That's a]] [[ComicallyMissingThePoint good idea.]]* DeconstructiveParody: Of the gangster genre and the adverse effects living like a criminal will produce.* DeadManSwitch: If anyone kills Vitti, his documents on the other mobsters will go public.* DestinationDefenestration: An assassin sent to kill Paul in Miami ends up receiving this. And crashes into Sobel's wedding below...* DoctorsOrders: Having difficulty asserting this is a major problem.* TheDon: Paul Vitti* EpiphanyTherapy: Vitti keeps expecting this, but it's never as neat and tidy as he wishes it would be.* FatBastard: Zigzagged with Jelly, Vitti's right-hand man. He ''is'' fat (likely how he got his name), he ''is'' a mobster (and does kill a few people on-screen), but he's more of a NobleDemon. * HighAltitudeInterrogation** Vitti and Jelly to a hitman in ''Analyze That''.** And later, Doc Sobel gets the same treatment for filming a scene in the ShowWithinAShow ''Little Caesar''.* HumiliationConga: What dignity Vitti retains at the end of the movie is utterly destroyed at the beginning of the second as he [[spoiler:clowns in front of the other prisoners to keep them from trying to kill him]].* LargeHam: Paul Vitti* IHaveManyNames: Parodied when Sobel tries to fit in amongst the gangsters. Apparently, he's also "Benny the Groin", "[[LooneyTunes Elmer the Fudd]]", "Tubby the Tuba", and on one occasion "Miss Phyllis Levine".* IHaveThisFriend: Vitti tries this, but it doesn't work.* IndulgentFantasySegue / DaydreamSurprise: Sobel's fantasy of telling a patient ''exactly'' what he thinks of her. The sequel has him doing this at his father's funeral, although from what his wife comments his actual eulogy failed to ''totally'' hold back.* MoreDakka: The number of gun fights in this film should be a DrinkingGame.* OedipusComplex: Mocked. "Have you ''seen'' my mother?"** Also lampshaded:-->'''Dr Sobel''': Oedipus is a Greek story about a man who kills his father and marries his mother.-->'''Vitti''': [[StealthPun Fucking Greeks]].* PercussiveTherapy: When Sobel suggests "hitting a pillow" to Vitti as a means of calming down, Vitti [[MoreDakka unloads a 9mm clip]] into a [[CrowningMomentOfFunny defenseless cushion]].* PrecisionFStrike: " ... but the people who know me, call me the fucking Doctor." Sobel introduces himself to the gangster summit meeting.* ShoutOut: Besides all the mafia and psychology films. One scene has Sobel saying "to find us, we need to get inside and let it out. [[Film/{{Alien}} Like that thing that got out and ate those in the spaceship.]] Rest in peace."* VerbThis* WellDoneSonGuy: Vitti had been fighting with his dad and was very angry at him, but [[spoiler:is haunted by guilt due to watching him die]].----